Electrically-operated day and night signal for railways.



No. 643,255.. Patentgd Feb. l3, I900. J. J. SAVILLE & J. H. WINSPEAR. ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DAY AND NIGHT SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1898.) N 0 HI 0 d 9] THE woman vzrsns co. PHOTO-LKTHQ, WASHINGTON. u. c.

JOHN J. SAVILLE AND JAMES H. VVINSPEAR,.OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA, AS-

SIGNORS TO THE STANDARD RAILWAY SIGNAL AND SlVITGII COMPANY,

OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRlCALLY-OPERATED DAY AND mom SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,255, dated February 13, 1900.

Application filed August 13, 1898. Serial No. 688,542. (No model.)

To ctZl whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN J. SAVILLE and JAMES H. VVINSPEAR, citizens of the United States, residing at Omaha,-in the county of Douglas and State of N ebraska,have invented an Improved Electrically-Operated Day and Night Signal for Railways, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide a [0 simple and reliable day and night signal apparatus to be automatically set at danger upon the approach of a train and to be returned to safety after the train has passed. The particular means to be employed for opening and closing a circuit by which the novel apparatus is operated is not set forth, being no part of the invention herein claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional view, the signal being set at safety. Fig. 2

is a like view, the signal being set at danger.

Fig. 3 is a section on the lines tt u o u looking to the right. Fig. 4: is a section on the line 20 w, Fig. 1, looking to the left. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of certain shutter-opcrating devices. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing a slight modification.

Most of the operating parts of the apparatus are inclosed in a box A, mounted near the place to be guarded upon a post or other suit- 3o able support and having a removable cover a and suitable doors, as at 0. to allow access to different parts of the apparatus. In one lateral wall of the box is set a preferably colorless lens 0 and below it is a colorless window D. Within the box is a smaller closed compartment or chamber 13, having an outwardly red wall parallel to and a trifle larger than the glass D and at a short distancev therefrom. In the central portion of the red wall just mentioned is seta red lens 0, and within the chamber is placed alamp E, arranged to throw light through a disk f, registering with the red lens, and having a chimney F extending upward through the top of the chamber. Upon the chamber and within the box is placed a second lamp e, arranged to throw light through a disk f, registering with the lens 0 and corresponding with it in color or lack of color. This lamp is provided with a chimney passing out through the top of the box and serving as an extension of the chilnney of the lower lamp.

Below the lens a an opaque shutter H, having its outer face h white, normally rests upon the bottom of the box between the glass D and the red wall of the compartment B, where it cuts off such light as may pass outward through the red lens and covers the entire red wall, so that from without nothing but its own white surface is visible through the win- 6o dow. At the middle of its upper side the shutter is pivoted to the longer arm g of a bar centrally fixed to a transverse rock-shaft G, mounted in upwardly-open bearings upon the inner walls of the box A and bearing a pulley g, shown as segmental. To the pulley is fixed a cord is, attached to the core K of a solenoid, whose coil J is in circuit through wires m a with a battery L. In this circuit a make-and-break device 0 is arranged to be closed by an approaching train and to open after the train passes. The closing of the circuit draws the core into the coil, rocks the shaft, and raises the shutter to the position shown in Fig. 2, where it is held until the circuit is again broken, when it falls by gravity to its normal position. (Shown in Fig. 1.)

As the force exerted increases with the inward movement of the core we attach to the shorter arm of the shutter-carrying bar a counterweight I so arranged that its center of weight swings from the line of gravity as the shutter rises, and thus offers graduallyincreasing resistance to the action of the solenoid. A similar result may be attained by substituting for the weight a springp, Fig. 6, arranged to olfer variable resistance to the rocking of the shaft. Now normally, by day, the white shutter only is visible at the window, but on the approach of a train the shutter passes out of sight, except so far as it maybe seen through the upper lens, which does not prevent the shutters being substantially hidden, leaving only a red surface visible through the window. At night the shutter normally cuts off the red light, leaving only the light from the lens 0; but upon the approach of a train it rises, cutting off the light through the lens and exposing the red light below until after the train has passed.

The battery may be housed at any convenient point in the circuit and the make-andbreak devices may be at any desired distance from the point to be guarded and may be operated by any approved devices.

For simplicity and clearness We have set forth apparatus having signals upon one side only; but obviously the invention is not limited to such construction, and We wish to claim both broadly and specifically all that our invention fairly includes.

What we claim is 1. The combination with a colored light in A a field of like color, of a light of a different color located above that field, a shutter corresponding in color to the second light and normally hiding the first light and its field, electric devices for moving the shutter to position for hiding the second light and exposing the first light and its field, and devices for substantially hiding the shutter while in its second position.

2. The combination with a Wall having a large and a small opening, of a fixed target or surface behind the larger opening, a shutter of different color mounted behind the wall to swing alternately over each opening, and two lights arranged to project through the openings,. respectively, light beams corresponding in color to the colors of said surface and said shutter, respectively.

3. In signaling apparatus, the combination with a fixed wall having a large and a small signal-opening, of a colored target or surface behind the larger opening, alike-colored light visible through the same opening, a light not of that color projected through the smaller opening, a shaft having a rigid arm, a shutter corresponding in color to the second light mounted upon said arm behind the wall and normally closing the larger opening, an electromagnet arranged to actuate the shaft and swing the shutter from the larger'opening and behind the smaller one, and a normallyopen electric circuit arranged to energize said magnet when closed.

4. The combination with the box having within it the smaller closed chamber with one colored side Wall, a shutter arranged to swing between that Wall and the corresponding side of the box, a like-colored lens in that side of the chamber, a window in the corresponding side of the box, an uncolored lens in the side of the box alongside said window, the rock-shaft having the rigid arm pivoted to the shutter, the pulley upon the shaft, a battery-circuit provided with make-and-break devices and a solenoid-coil, a cord connecting the pulley to the solenoid-core, and devices offering gradually-increasing resistance as the shaft rocks from normal position.

JOHN J. SAVILLE. JAMES H. WINSPEAR. Witnesses:

HENRY 0. WHEELER, GUY O. FLEMING. 

